The Cursed of Kronos
by The Seven of Us
Summary: Like our favorite son of Hades, Bria de Louge is also an outcast—simply because of her parentage. Born long before the pact was ever thought of, cursed by Kronos, forgotten by the Olympians, and arguably the most powerful demigod Hades has ever sired, Bria harbors many secrets—secrets that could destroy the world as we know it if they found each other.
1. Bria de Louge-The Cursed of Kronos

_**January—2007—Six months before the Battle of the Labyrinth—Long Island, New York**_

Bria leaned against a tree, watching the campers come and go sadly. She knew that no one would notice her. No—it was probably best that way. They did not need her to mess up their camp with her secrets haunting her every step of the way.

She laughed quietly to herself. _Although Percy Jackson is certainly turning this place upside down_, she thought to herself amusedly. _Him and his two friends, Annabeth and Grover._

Bria watched the few campers that stayed year-round from the shadows of the tree she was leaning against, glad of her dark skin and short stature. Hestia gave her a little wave from her hearth. Bria smiled back at her, her eerie golden eyes crinkling—Hestia being the only one in long years to have seen her, and vice versa.

It was fate, Bria guessed. She had what was coming to her, now a full century ago. Now, the warrior, Percy Jackson, shared the fateful day that she was cursed by Kronos, on his birthday. _Coming back to bite me in the butt, of course,_ she mused, ruefully smiling. Maybe, someday, when Kronos wasn't out there somewhere, she could make a reappearance at Camp Half-Blood. Maybe Percy Jackson didn't know it, but he had one more person that had hopes of him defeating Kronos. Maybe, just maybe, she could come back to her home without bringing danger—correction, _more_ danger. Someday.

Bria refused to let her hopes get up. She knew her fateful day was coming. Percy Jackson would be the one who made the choice. But always, she would be in the background, protecting her fellow demigods when she could. She had been the first to die in a war. She had sacrificed her mortality the moment she backhanded Kronos's fragile form, effectively shattering him into a million pieces again.

_Hear the words of Kronos, demigod: as long as I live, you will live as well, cursed to watch the ages pass you by. Your fellow demigods will look into your eyes and shun you, for you bear the mark of Kronos!_

The pain had been incredible, her very soul fused to the Titan of Time's, nearly burning her inside out. Her father was the one to find her, half-submerged in the River Phlegethon, badly burned, her soul fused to the Titan Lord's, unconscious. Bria had been in a coma for months, and a wheelchair for two years after that.

And then she'd tried to walk. Hades had fairly sprinted from the Throne Room in her father's palace to her own room, to find his daughter clutching her dresser, screaming in agony, but standing. She'd passed out for a week after that, of course, but she was standing. Bria de Louge was standing. But it all went downhill from there.

Bria trained. Her powers increased as she was supposed to get older. She walked, she ran, she fought against monsters and armies of the dead, and she disappeared. She knew for a fact that Hades tracked her down several times, but she moved out of the area before Hades could get a lock on her position and drag her back to the Underworld.

Now she was in New York: Long Island, to be exact. There were several places she could have gone in New York for a place to stay, old friends that would've offered a couple of days of R&R, but it had been so long since she'd seen Camp Half-Blood. There were rumors in the magical world, of course, but rumors weren't as good as being there herself.

Seeing that the Camp was safe for the time being, Bria turned to go, before she stiffened. She whirled around, disappearing into the shadows quickly, and realized it was Chiron who had just come _very_ close to her.

"A child of Hades," he said softly, stopping.

A child of Hades,_ Kronos had mused. Bria had stayed well away from the edge of Tartarus, but it seemed like it wasn't enough to stay out of Kronos's sensing—_

"Yes," Bria admitted.

—_she dreamed of the horrible Pit, a horrible voice echoing out of the darkness, goading her against the gods, coaxing her to join the Titans, praising her—_

Chiron stiffened, his eyes going wide. "I would never forget that voice, Bria," he breathed. "How are you not dead?"

—The gods never did anything for you_, Kronos urged. _You should be dead a dozen times over if it wasn't for your cunning. _Even though it was true, Bria stubbornly remained silent, resisting the urge to snort with laughter at how true it was. But she chose the lesser of two evils—the gods—_

"I was cursed," Bria said softly. "This is not the first time Kronos has come close to rising, Chiron."

—_a horrible voice echoing through Bria's mind. _Help me, daughter of my son, and you will be rewarded beyond measure_, he said. She tried to shut him out, but he battered down her defenses as if they were paper. A form took shape behind her closed eyelids, the form of Kronos, him trying to coax her over to the Titans'—_

Chiron exhaled, looking to the heavens. "Almighty gods," he said softly.

—No! I will not help you!_ she screamed at him once more. Kronos came closer to Bria, who stood her ground, glaring up into Kronos's eyes, her dress swaying around her feet, which were spread apart in a battle stance—_

Bria smiled a little. "It was good to talk to you again, Chiron."

—_Kronos crooned at Bria, stroking her face. _A fiery little thing. Short. Compact. But strong. You are strong, Bria de Louge. You could be even stronger…_ In response, Bria noticed the cracks that webbed across his skin like he was porcelain. Before she could lose her nerve, she lifted her right hand, drew it all the way to her left shoulder, and brought the back of her hand across Kronos's face as hard as she could—_

"Don't—" Chiron said suddenly, turning around, but the short girl had shadow-traveled away. "Bria de Louge is alive," he breathed, it suddenly sinking in.

_Hear the words of Kronos, demigod…_

* * *

_**September—2008—A month after the Titan War—San Francisco, California**_

Bria silently followed the legionnaire, her long dark hair back in braids and tied up in a bun. The legionnaire entered the _principia_, Bria following, hanging back in the shadows.

She patiently waited as the legionnaire gave his report and left.

"This worries me, Jason," the girl said. She was tall, dark-skinned with long, straight dark hair, and wore her armor proudly. She gave off an air of authority and power. The girl tapped the report. "We just got done fighting a war. Now who is this mysterious savior? She showed up, lit a fire, gave them food, and disappeared. From the description, she almost sounds like Levesque, but shorter."

_Oh_, Bria realized with a muffled laugh. That would be herself, helping out with a quest.

"This isn't just recently, either," the girl continued, sounding aggravated that she didn't know something. "This has been going on for the past _century_. A little girl shows up, lights the questers a fire, gives them food, and then promptly disappears! The incidents have showed up in almost every quest report since 1900!" She threw the file on her desk vehemently, frustrated.

"Hey," the other person said. He was also tall, taller than the girl, with blond hair and striking blue eyes, with a scar above the upper lip. "She's helping out the questers. Maybe she's a minor goddess? Or maybe even Lady Vesta. Whoever she is, she's friendly. Reclusive, but friendly. Chill, Reyna. But we could search for her, if you want."

_Nope, not quite a goddess,_ Bria thought, amused. _Just a cursed daughter of Hades_.

Reyna sighed and put her head in her hands. "Where did she come from? Who is she? Why does she help the people on the quest? Why doesn't she come to the legion? What is she? Is this a team of one or many? Is this a familial thing, helping out questers? I'm grateful that she helped our legionnaires, but I'm also uncomfortable with the thought of a powerful demigod out there, alone."

"Heaven knows I'd be dead if it wasn't for the legion," Jason muttered in agreement. "So we search for her? But—"

"—the legion is still recovering from the war," Reyna finished, sighing. "I know. Maybe in a couple months, we'll send out another quest, with the legionnaires instructed to find the enigma, and hopefully bring her back to the legion if she doesn't turn out to be a goddess."

Bria rolled her eyes. _I'm not a goddess!_ her thoughts screamed. _Jeez!_

Then Reyna stiffened, her hand creeping towards her dagger. "I know you're there," she announced. "I admit, I don't know where, but you're in the room."

_Yep, sure am_, Bria thought snappishly. What was it with people sensing her? First Chiron a year ago, now Reyna!

"Reyna…" Jason said slowly, confused.

"There's someone else in the room," Reyna said, her voice a growl.

Bria let the shadows covering her body drop. She was still in a shadowy corner, but Reyna at least could see her if she looked in her direction. Her gold eyes flashed as she reached out of the air and caught the dagger an inch from her nose. "I'm not here to kill you," she said calmly. "Although, I think you dropped this." Bria flicked her wrist, sending the dagger into the desk in front of Reyna.

"Sarcasm," Reyna muttered, exasperated. "I already get enough of it from Jason."

Bria shrugged. "Sorry. Although, it was funny to use sarcasm in the old days. No one expected it from a woman."

"Old days being…?" Jason asked warily.

"Late eighteen hundreds," Bria said easily. "And no, I'm not a goddess. Just a cursed demigod. I highly doubt you want a cursed demigod on your legion."

"Too late," Jason commented.

Bria arched an eyebrow, stepping out of the gloom of the shadows. "So you really want someone who got on Saturn's bad side?"

"Anyone who pisses off Titans is my friend," Reyna said, instantly sheathing her knife.

"Even one who is cursed to be tied to Kronos until he dies?" Bria asked calmly.

Jason did a double take. Bria smirked. "Not so hot on that idea, are you?"

"Saturn _cursed_ you?" Reyna asked. "In the _eighteen hundreds_?"

Bria shrugged carelessly. "This isn't the first time Saturn has attempted to rise. The 18th of August, turn of the century, Saturn appeared to me in my dreams for the last time. Like always, he tried to turn me against the gods, but I finally had enough of it and backhanded him across the face."

Jason's mouth was hanging open. Reyna looked torn between laughing at Jason's face or following Jason's lead.

"In response, he cursed me. My soul would forever be tied to his until he died, and it showed the moment I came out of my coma," she said, gesturing to her eyes.

"August 18th is when _this_ war ended," Reyna protested.

"August 18th is funny that way," Bria said bitterly. "August 18th is when the gods defeated Typhon as well." _And when the Titan war on the other side of the country ended also. What a great day to have a birthday._

"Typhon," Jason repeated, his voice going a little high on the second syllable. "Okay, now you're making things up."

Bria shrugged. "You can believe what you want. I'm a loner. I'm not tied down to a specific area. And I don't know about you guys, but to me, being a loner, unnoticed by all but those you want to know about you, is a great way to achieve information. For instance: history repeats itself. In 1900, Saturn stirred from the depths of Tartarus. In 1942, my sister sacrificed herself to defeat Saturn's mother. Figure it out from there."

Jason and Reyna looked away from the short girl to glance at each other. When they looked back, she was gone. Vanished without a trace, except for two indents in the carpet from where she had been standing.

* * *

_**May—2009—A month before the **_**Argo II**_** sails to Camp Jupiter—Brooklyn, New York**_

Half-heartedly cursing, Bria stumbled out of the shadows, dead tired. The people whose room she'd just appeared in jumped up, yelling in surprise as Bria crumpled to the floor, tired beyond belief.

"What the— Someone get me Jaz ASAP!" A girl with pale skin and blonde hair with dyed streaks of color rolled Bria over onto her back, who just moaned as she was moved. "Hang in there, you're going to be all right," the girl reassured. "But bloody hell, you need to teach me that trick!"

Bria gave a weak laugh. "I'm fine, not stabbed or anything like that. Just drained. It's been a long day." _Understatement_, Bria thought wryly.

The blonde haired girl laughed. "Looks like it. You're fine, you can sleep. We're used to crazy stuff around here."

"Awesome," Bria slurred. "'Cuz if you're anythin' like me, then you should expect an influx of enemies, just a heads up."

"Duly noted," the girl said, amused. Then Bria pretty much passed out right there.

When she woke, she was in a large bed, which was in a large room. Bria sat up slowly, taking note of her surroundings, which were top-of-the-line and very modern. She wrinkled her nose. Modern wasn't Bria's style.

Bria looked down at her clothes. Someone had changed her into loose white linen pajamas while she'd slept. Joy. Said someone had gotten to see all of the many scars that she'd accumulated over the years. Then again, she was lucky to not have lost a finger or three.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed, wincing as her sore muscles protested. Nevertheless, she swiftly walked to the closet, opened it, and saw her usual white tank top, cream turtleneck, black leather jacket, grey scarf, and dark jeans hanging in the closet. She hopped around on one foot comically for a moment as she got her knee-high black boots on, giving her both a little bit of height (a saving grace for a girl standing at four-foot-three) and some sturdy footwear.

Bria clambered down the staircase of the five-story mansion, making only a little noise. Judging by the sun, it was about two in the afternoon, so Bria had slept for a solid fourteen hours, at least. That was assuming that she hadn't fallen asleep for a day or four.

"Hey! You're up!" the blonde-haired girl exclaimed.

"No, really?" Bria said, smiling to take the bite out of her comment.

"Sarcasm," she said, snorting. "I love you already. My brother _still_ doesn't get sarcasm, even after living with me for a year."

Bria snorted. "One would _usually_ pick up sarcasm after that long."

"See?" the girl said, gesturing towards Bria dramatically. "Finally, someone agrees with me!"

There was a collective groan behind her, coming from the table on the balcony. Bria had a wry smile on her face.

"Oh, shut up," the girl huffed towards her friends.

"Yes, because you're _obviously_ the perfect host," someone else said from the table, rolling his eyes. "Have you even asked her her name? Or even introduced _yourself_, huh, Sadie?"

Newly-named Sadie huffed again. "Shut it, Walt."

"So, I'm Bria," Bria prompted, amusement written all over her face.

"Right," Sadie muttered. "I'm Sadie Kane. That's Walt, my boyfriend; Carter Kane, my brother; Jaz, who healed you; Felix, who you really don't want to let near ice or penguins; Cleo, who is our resident librarian and probably smarter than all of us put together; Shelby, who really doesn't need to be coloring something on the table; Alyssa, who is awesome with earthy-things; Julian, who is just about to Carter's level when it comes to fighting abilities, and yes, that is an accomplishment, and no, Carter, that was not a compliment; Zia, who is Carter's girlfriend and possibly my sister-in-law to-be; Amos, who probably shouldn't be here but is anyway—"

Bria held up her hands, laughing. "Okay, hold up. I'm still stuck at somewhere around, uh, Alyssa, I think. And I don't think I'll be staying very long, anyway."

Sadie's face shifted into an expression of confusion and a little suspicion. "Why?"

Bria smiled wryly. "I'm a loner, Sadie Kane. I have been that way for years. I am well aware of what you are, and no, it does not surprise me in the least. I've gotten mixed up with more crazy stuff than you could ever dream of, and I _am_ glad I met you, but all I bring is sorrow."

It was dead quiet as Bria turned towards a shadow. As she was half way into it, she stopped, and her voice rang with amusement when she spoke: "Oh, and good job annoying the House of Life. They were always a bunch of stick-in-the-muds."

And then the darkness of the shadows twinned around her, enveloping Bria in a layer of darkness, and when they relaxed, the daughter of Hades was gone. Sadie stared at the spot where Bria had been. Then the shadows spit out a small bottle with a note attached.

_Thought Jaz might find this interesting to look at. Yes, it tastes disgusting, but it heals anything. Think of it as a thank-you. ~Bria de Louge_

"Jaz," Sadie called. "Come look at this. And perhaps Cleo. Bria sent you a present."

* * *

Hector: How d'you do an Author's Note?

**Mora (impatiently): You _bold_ it, silly. See?**

**Hector: Right. Anyway.**

**Mora: Hector apparently wrote this ages ago, basing Bria off of me (yes, I am African American, and yes, I do stand at 4'3"), and apparently he wanted more insight into my thoughts... Just so you know, I'm not as sarcastic as Bria...that was Hector's fault.**

**Hector (gaping): You use sarcasm _all the time_!**

**Mora (rolling her eyes): No, you insinuate that I use sarcasm all the time because I hang out with a bunch of people that use sarcasm twenty-four/seven.**

**Hector (shrugging): Ah, whatever. I like Bria being sarcastic. So, was it good?**

**Mora: It was good, not entirely _likely_, but hey, that's fanfiction. Turning the unlikely into a story.**

**Hector (snickering): Wonder how long it'll take the others to realize we posted a story without their knowing about it?**

**Mora (also laughing): If they keep it up, a fortnight!**

**Hector: Anyway, we'd like some feedback? You know, reviews?**

**Mora: Constructive critism?**

**Hector: Something to that effect?**

**Hector: Also, note that Bria knew about the Romans (Heroes of Olympus), Egyptians (Kane Chronicals), Wizarding World (Harry Potter), Norse Mythology and what has happened on Midgard regarding Thor crashing into it (Marvel's Thor), and probably other things once I think about it too hard.**

**Mora: Gallager Girls, Maximum Ride, The Colossus Rises?**

**Hector: *lightbulb* Yeah! Wait, what's Colossus Rises?**

**Mora: *hands inch-thick book to him* Read. You'll find out.**

**Hector (scratching his head): Well, this complicates things...it'll be awhile before we update again, just warnin' ya.**


	2. To Be Discovered By Many

_**August**_**_—2009—Two months after the _****Argo II****_ sailed to Camp Jupiter_**_**—Unknown city, New Mexico**_

_SHIELD_, Bria mused, standing in the shadows of a tall saguaro cactus in New Mexico. Of course she recognized the energy signature—at the very least, it definitely wasn't anything she encountered in her travels...except very faint traces in Iceland. Thus she deduced that it was Norse, just by the energy signature.

And then there were the runes on the hammer: that instantly pointed towards Thor. A hammer as a weapon was uncommon in all mythologies (and heaven knows that there's far too many).

Now SHIELD was scurrying around the hammer like an army of ants, putting up tents, setting up technology...

Bria laughed a little to herself, and wondered what Thor had finally done to anger his father that he'd be stripped of his powers. No doubt it was something Loki was mixed up in as well, as well as the Warriors of Three.

Whatever Thor had done, Norse mythology would make itself known to Midgard very soon. Meanwhile, she would oversee the Quest of Seven as a precaution—just to ward off any wayward lightning gods. Bria grimaced. The Greek demigods really didn't need to be mixed up into another mythology. And the Norse demigods...well, that's pretty much a given.

"Hello."

Bria smirked. "Wondering when someone would notice me. I haven't exactly made myself hidden."

The man made a noise of agreement. "I'll have to ask you to leave, Miss Louge."

Bria froze, and then whipped around. "SHIELD is an agency of secrets, Miss Louge," he said dryly. "I am well aware of your age. We don't know how or why, and frankly the Director believes that if we get mixed up into one more mythology or something to that effect, he'll explode."

"I don't blame him," Bria said warily.

The man stuck out his hand. "Agent Coulson of SHIELD."

Bria shook his hand. "And you apparently already know me. But for formalities' sake, Bria de Louge of the Greeks."

Coulson gave her a wry smile. Bria exhaled. "I give your Director a warning, Agent Coulson of SHIELD: the Greeks are paranoid. If you manage to find another of my kind, don't say their name until they give it to you. They are in the middle of a brutal war...and they won't hesitate to kill if they think you are an enemy."

Coulson nodded. "Duly noted. It will be given to him."

Bria nodded. "Have a good..." her eyes trailed towards the tent housing the hammer. "Well, I hope you find him...he might sound a little weird. But give him a chance."

Coulson raised an eyebrow at her cryptic message, and then raised the other eyebrow as the shadow of the cactus twinned around Bria's legs, enveloping her, and then she was gone.

He put a finger to his comm link. "Director?"

_"Coulson?"_

"Bria de Louge has a message for you."

* * *

_**August—2009—Four days after the Coulson encounter—Roseville, Virginia**_

_Oh dear god, why is everyone going MISSING?!_ Bria screamed in her head. _First Jason, then Percy, then Percy and Annabeth vanish into Tartarus, and now I find out that Cam has been missing since the beginning of summer?! What the crap!_

Bria was fuming that she hadn't checked up on the school in months. Granted, it took quite a bit to get past the security, of course, but _seriously_? Okay, yes, she was a bit busy with the Percy/Jason swap and the chaos _that_ caused, then the war the Greeks and Romans were fighting—against each other and against Gaea, then the Egyptians going apocalyptic a couple months ago, but really, those were no excuses to leave out a freaking _spy school_!

Distracted by her raging internal thoughts, Bria didn't realize that she'd let her shadows fall until the lights flipped on and Rachel Morgan stood in the doorway, looking half-amazed and half-extremely wary. "How did you get past security?"

"If I told you, you would have a field day trying to scientifically explain it," Bria said dryly. "Scientifically, it isn't possible. Then again, scientifically, I should be dead. So really, I think that the best I can say is that I just found out about your daughter, and that I'll be searching for her."

Rachel Morgan's face never shifted throughout Bria's explanation, although Bria was pretty sure that had Rachel Morgan been untrained, she would have been standing there with her mouth hanging open, blinking rapidly.

"Although, I admit, your security is hard to get by, even for me," Bria said, amused and impressed. "This is the first time I've checked back in on this area in about six months, what with all the wars and apocalypses. I'm a bit distracted."

Ms. Morgan's face was impassive. "How did you get past security?"

"If I show you, I'll be leaving," Bria said easily. She sighed. "Ok, Ms. Morgan. Let's put this in perspective: you have training to show whether or not I'm lying. My name is Bria de Louge. I'm from old New York. I've known about your school since July of 1910. I travel around the world, making connections in high places and helping those that need it. If I'd told anyone about the true nature of Gallager Academy, it would've been all over the news, yes? You would have people trying to get an inside look on the place at the very least, yes?"

Rachel Morgan's face never changed. "How come I've never heard of you?"

Bria resisted the urge to laugh. "For two reasons, Ms. Morgan. One, I'm old news, and two? Gillian Gallager was kicked out of her prestigious family, yes? She also rejected _them_. And as such, the hatred that drove that family apart drives Gallager Academy today—only her direct descendents would you ever find a part of her family."

"You claim to be related to Gillian Gallager?"

Bria shook her head. "Even if I did claim such, it would be untrue."

Ms. Morgan studied Bria closely. "Perhaps next Saturday?" Bria said distractedly. "I need to go."

The principal of Gallager Academy opened her mouth to refuse Bria's request, and abruptly shut it as the shadow Bria was standing in enveloped Bria like a blanket, hiding her from view, and then when they relaxed, the girl was gone.

She exhaled. _Well, she was right about one thing_, Rachel mused. _I could never scientifically explain that._

* * *

**_December-2009-Two days before the war with Gaea and the Romans officially ends-Unknown area, Arizona_**

"Dear god, Bria," Max said, staring at the exhausted girl. "You look like you got run over by a tractor with spikes on the wheels."

Bria rolled her eyes, grimacing. "Thank you, for that vivid description, Max."

Angel ran over, looking at Bria. "Did you win?"

Bria grimaced again, this time from frustration rather than pain. "Almost. We're almost there, Angel. Another couple of days..." She stumbled and fell, groaning.

"Bria!" Max said, alarmed, running over and kneeling next to the girl. "Iggy, go get the First Aid kit, and no, you can't go blow something up, Gazzy."

Iggy ran and got the kit, and Gazzy visibly deflated. Nudge was on motormouth mode ("Oh my god, is she okay? No, of course she isn't okay, but _will_ she be okay? Because I really like Bria, she has an awesome fashion sense..."). Fang was his usual dark, stoic self. Angel was biting her lip. Max was checking over Bria for major injuries.

"'E 'lask..." Bria moaned, slurring her words from the pain. "Da 'lask, Mas, 'n mah po'et..."

Max rolled Bria over gently and frisked the demigod for the flask in all her pockets. "Don' 'ouch da likid," Bria warned sluggishly, taking the flask from Max and awkwardly propping herself up as she took off her jacket and blood-soaked top. Awkwardly, she undid the flask's cap with one hand, and drizzled the thick liquid over the gaping wound in her stomach. Nudge just about fainted at the sight.

Bria sighed in relief as the wound started to clot and stop bleeding, making Max start. _Bria said that she wasn't genetically altered!_ her mind screamed at her.

"'Old this," Bria said, slurring less, handing Max the flask. "Don' touch tha liquid."

"I got that," Max said, an eyebrow raised. "What is it?"

Bria grunted as she sat up painfully, propping herself up against the counter. "Nectar," she said between gritted teeth. "Long story on 'ow I got it." She took the flask from Max again and addressed the wound on her upper left leg that was still bleeding profusely. "Thank you, Iggy."

She took out an almost-empty bag of cotton balls and stretched out the cotton balls one by one, dipped them into the nectar, and placed them on her stomach wound, slowly covering it. Bria took out the bandages and started winding them around her waist, clipping the ends to the rest of the bandages. Then she did the same with her leg wound, sighing in relief.

Angel helped her up, to the protests of Max and Nudge. "She's fine," Angel said calmly. "Or, she will be shortly."

"You guys have a place I can crash in?" Bria said, steadying herself on Angel's shoulder, careful not to touch her wing.

Max nodded. "Yeah, the next School branch can wait."

After blowing up the main School (the one that the Flock were trapped in and experimented on) in New Mexico spectacularly and making sure all the mutants that were alive were out of there, the Flock had devoted their free time to taking out the rest of the branches of the School. Unfortunately, there were _hundreds_. And the Flock had taken out about fifty branches.

"Thanks," Bria said tiredly. Angel led her to a bedroom at the end of the hall.

"How did it go?" Angel asked.

Bria sighed. "Horribly. We lost so many people because of the Giants. Although _Gaea_...dear god, I never want to see that again. That was entirely too creepy and..."

"Amazing and yet terrifying," Angel filled in.

Bria nodded exhaustedly.

"Hey, you got to meet Percy Jackson!" she said, trying to cheer the much older girl up.

Bria snorted, wincing. "No kidding. He was the one to go against Gaea with me."

Angel looked at Bria. "That was brave."

"Percy's always been like that," she said tiredly. "Although I can't say I wasn't disappointed that Kronos wasn't killed in the Second Titan War."

"No, _you_ going up against Gaea," Angel said softly. "I know you hate going out in public nowadays, especially going out in public and fighting."

Bria's jaw clenched. "Drop it, please."

Angel nodded once. "Okay."

"Thank you."

* * *

**Mora: Hey, we're close!**

**Hector: Close to _what_?**

**Mora (rolling eyes): Close to actually starting the plot, duh!**

**Hector: Yeah, that was originally meant to be this chapter, but then you came up with all those ideas for other books and whatnots...though I'm not doing Colossus Rises. Six different series combined into one story is _more_ than enough. So: HoO, PJO, KC, MR, GG, and Thor/Avengers (that'll come later). So jeez-um.**

**Mora: It was _your_ idea to start this, I'm just correcting you.**

**Hector: This is the _strangest_ way of IM-ing.**

**Percy: YOU STARTED A STORY?! Good job. I'm getting Fire.**

**Mora: DONT'! Dear gods, _please_ don't!**

**Hector: Percy, because you're sitting right next to me, I'm going to strangle you if you type another key on that damned phone of yours.**

**Hector: Wow, I didn't know I was that scary...**

**Mora: Was that Percy that just climbed out your window?**

**Hector: Er...yeah. Why were you looking at my windom?**

**Fire: JJeez, Hec, we didn't no that you coudl write like this!**

**Hector: I'M GOING TO KILL YOU PERCY!**

**Percy *a few minutes later*: (gupl) I hate touchscreen keyborads! Dear gods, this spelling is atrocious!**

**Mora: *slams head against desk***

**Fire: You OK?**

**Mora: Do I look okay?! Oh...and could some of the readers kind of...review? Even if it's bad? Please?**

**Fire: OK, ok, hold your horese****!**

**Jen: Hey, people! Guess what? I have discovered an occupational hazard in mowing lawns!**

**Percy: what?**

**Fire: he heck?**

**Hector: ...do I really want to know?**

**Jen: 'Kay, there's these really tall weeds in my backyard and they have seedpods in them, right?**

**Hector: Yeah, I've got some of those about a foot high in my backyard...**

**Jen: CUT THEM DOWN NOW! I just got freaking WHIPPED by those things! Jeez, my hair is so _frizzy_!**

**Kendra: And for once, she isn't exaggerating. I'm treating the welts on her back as we speak...er, type. PS-good job Hector! Although some of the spelling on the longer words is kind of meh.**

**Hector: Ok, I'll uproot them soon, and thanks Kendra. I'll see what I can do about it.**

**Kendra: Already did it for you.**


	3. The Difference of Houses

**_January—2010—A couple days after the war with Gaea ended—Manhattan, New York_**

Nico walked along the sidewalks of Manhattan, tripping over himself with exhaustion. His vision blurred, and he could've sworn he saw Hazel. "Hazel?" he yelled, attracting some annoyed looks from other pedestrians. Nico tripped again, and started running towards the girl. "Hazel?! How are you—"

The girl turned around, confusion written all over her face. Then it cleared, as soon as she saw Nico and his tired state.

"—alive?" Nico finished his question.

Hazel smiled at him. "Nico, I'm not Hazel. Our sister would have your head if you thought a short little thing like me would be her, though. You need to rest."

Nico looked at Not-Hazel like she'd dropped from outer space. "No!" he protested childishly. "I can't rest. I just…"

"Really need to rest," Not-Hazel finished for him, amusement on her face. "C'mon. I know where nightmares won't find you."

"Wait, whoa, what?" Nico stuttered. "Who are you if you aren't Hazel? You're the spitting image of my sister, albeit a little shorter! Where won't nightmares find us?"

Not-Hazel curled her upper lip, smiling a little. "My name is Bria, and you're so tired that you are practically dead on your feet, so your vision is probably really blurry. And you'll see."

Nico tripped again, and Not-Hazel—Bria—steadied him, amusement and concern written all over her face. "C'mon. We're going to Brooklyn."

Nico _definitely_ didn't expect her to drag him to a shadow and pull both of them through to an entirely different place. The transition was so smooth that Nico blinked twice in disbelief, thinking they'd gone through a door or something. He looked behind him. A solid wall. A dark shadow.

"Wait a second, there is no _freaking_ way we just shadow traveled," Nico stuttered.

"I've had a lot of practice," Bria said, laughing.

"What, you think I haven't?!"

"Ten bucks says I'm _way_ older than you," Bria said wryly.

"1924," Nico challenged.

Bria shrugged. "1886."

Nico spluttered. "_Excuse_ me?!"

"I know, I look great for my age, don't I?" Bria said flippantly.

"Yup," someone else said. Nico's head snapped up to see an African American boy with short, curly hair. "Another demigod? Hey, Bria, long time, no see."

"Hey, Carter," Bria said, smiling a little. "Yes, another demigod. He's my half-brother."

"Cool," Carter said, mildly impressed. "Is he anything like you?"

Bria shrugged. "Right now he's practically out of his mind from exhaustion, and I just met him for real about two minutes ago, so I really wouldn't know."

Carter looked mildly alarmed. "Okay. Go put him in the infirmary. I'll go get Jaz."

"Jaz is already here," Jaz said, supporting the other side of Nico, who was already leaning heavily on Bria. "The lotus potion should work, right, Bria?"

"Mix it with a drop of the vial I gave you the first time," Bria agreed. "It'll heal his mind a little. And he needs food. Like, a lot. And warmth. Hades's kids are always really cold."

"Don't remind me," Jaz muttered. "I seriously thought you were going to die when you had a hundred-point-two temperature."

"Thanks," Bria said dryly.

Nico groaned and stirred between the two girls. "What're going to do to me?"

Bria snorted. "Basically? We're going to give you a tonic that'll knock you flat on your back for three days straight and kill nightmares, as well as give your sanity a boost. While you're asleep, you're going to be babied with plenty of food, water, and warmth."

"I hate losin' time," Nico murmured.

"It'll be worth it, I promise," Bria assured. "This is a miracle worker. It'll be like Tartarus never happened."

Nico flinched. Jaz and Bria ignored it and set him gently on one of the infirmary beds. Candles popped up around them and darkened to a reddish-orange. Jaz got out her lotus potion and the vial Bria gave her, as well as some honey to sweeten the mixture. The mixture resulted in looking a purple-y color. Bria covered up her half-delirious brother with heating blankets and set them on medium, propping him up on pillows. Jaz handed Nico the mixture with the stern order of, "Drink."

Nico shuddered as the potion hit his gut, gasping as he literally felt magic flowing through every part of his body, making his limbs go weak and his eyes flutter shut, almost instantly out cold.

"That doesn't look good," Bria commented, looking at the candles.

"But hey, they look better already," Jaz pointed out. "Sleep is what he needs. How long has he not been sleeping?"

Bria shrugged. "Days? Weeks? I don't know. Like I told Carter, I just met him, for real, five minutes ago."

Jaz sighed. "That's definitely not healthy."

Bria frowned at her friend. "Jaz, demigod dreams aren't just _dreams_. They're signs, omens, highly prophetic, and the worse your situation is, the worse they are. They show past, present, and future alike, and trust me, I know a demigod that could _replace_ the Oracle because he's had so many dreams of the future. Dreams for a demigod are never fun. And Nico…he's been through the very definition hell, the very place where even _gods_ don't go, and I can't blame him for not being able to sleep."

The blonde chewed on her lip worriedly. "Sorry, Bria. It's just…"

Bria gave her friend a bitter smile. "Let's put this into your kind of perspective: Nico and seven other demigods fought the equivalent to the Chaos Snake without help from the gods. _And won_."

Jaz's jaw dropped. "Do not underestimate the demigods," Bria warned. "It is better to _over_estimate them rather than underestimate them. Every single person that has fought against them has underestimated the front united demigods put up, and every single one of them has lost. If you ever encounter one that _isn't_ friendly like me and the demigods I bring, promise me you will fight them like you would against the Chaos Snake."

"Bria—"

"_Promise me_!" Bria said vehemently.

Jaz backed away from the cursed demigod, her eyes wide with fear. "Okay. I promise," she said quietly.

There was a resounding _crash_ in the Great Room. Bria's eyes widened, and the blood drained out of her face. "Jaz, stay here," she said urgently. "As soon as I get out, seal the infirmary door with magic."

Bria darted out the door, summoning her Stygian Iron staff from the shadows. She lurched to the railing, her eyes wide with fear.

Percy Jackson ripped through the magicians like they were paper, his eyes narrowed as he deflected spells off of his sword, sending them careening them into other magicians. Annabeth Chase was keeping Carter busy with her knife.

Bria dropped through the shadows, appearing right next to Percy, her staff parallel to the floor, ready to block Percy's strike. Sure enough, Riptide _clang_ed off of her staff and she whipped it to the side, whapping Percy's sword arm hard, hitting a pressure point. Percy's arm went slack, and Riptide dropped to the floor. Carter finally managed to disarm Annabeth with pure luck as the flat of his blade rapped against a bony part of her wrist, making her gasp in pain and drop her knife.

"Stop!" Bria yelled. "Okay?! Just…stop. We aren't your enemies, and Nico is fine. He's getting a good sleep as we speak."

"You look like Hazel," Percy said warily, his arm still limp at his side.

"I'm a lot older than Hazel ever was," Bria said dryly. "Even though Nico probably thought I was kidding. My name is Bria."

"Are we done?" Sadie asked, scowling.

"No," Percy said. "Why did you take Nico?"

Bria rolled her eyes. "If _your_ half-brother came stumbling up to you, yelling his dead sister's name, and _you_ knew of how to get a nightmare-free sleep, would _you_ take him to it?"

"Nico's your half-brother?" Percy asked.

"No, he's my sister," Bria snapped sarcastically. "Yes, he's my half-brother! And better yet, he's my _younger_ half-brother! I don't get to interact with my siblings very often, so just _shut up_! You at least got to _refuse_ the offer of immortality! I got _cursed_ with it!"

Percy gaped at her. Bria snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Now go! Leave me and my half-brother alone! You got what you came for, to make sure that Nico was safe. So shoo!"

Bria stomped her foot, and shadows rose up and engulfed the couple, forcefully projecting them back into the Poseidon cabin. Bria huffed at thin air, turned on her heel, and walked back into the infirmary, past incredulous stares.

"Yay," Felix said quietly, sarcastically. Sadie snorted.

* * *

**_February—2010—A month after the war with Gaea—Long Island, New York_**

Chiron sighed resignedly as two of his students asked about Bria de Louge. He rolled back and forth in his chair, uncomfortable. "Children, you must understand, there are things that even I don't know. Ms. Louge—the girl you met—"

"And whooped my butt in under a second," Percy muttered.

Chiron pursed his lips to keep from laughing. "Yes, she does that to the best of them. To be honest, she has far more experience than everyone at this camp put together, perhaps excluding myself."

Annabeth's eyebrows climbed to her hairline. "And perhaps not?" she questioned, disbelief coloring her voice, picking up Chiron's hesitation on adding the last part.

The old centaur shrugged helplessly. "As a centaur, I was never hunted by monsters like demigods. She is perhaps the strongest child of Hades ever to live, her powers focusing on geokinesis and umbrakinesis."

"Wait, what?" Percy asked, confused.

"Earth and shadow manipulating," Annabeth explained.

"Yes," Chiron agreed. "And her scent is all the stronger because of her powers. And they have enhanced dramatically over the century, I imagine."

"_Century_?!" Percy and Annabeth said together.

The centaur sighed and leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers his fingers thoughtfully. "Unbeknownst to me until very recently, this was not the first time Kronos has made an attempt to rise and overpower the gods," Chiron said lowly. Percy and Annabeth leaned forward to catch his words. "Kronos had haunted her dreams, I guess, much like he had yours, Percy, as well as Luke's and who knows how many others. It was Bria who fought back violently, and in return she was cursed by the titan."

"With immortality," Percy remembered her yelling about her being cursed with immortality.

"It would appear so," Chiron agreed.

"How long have you known?" Annabeth asked curiously.

The centaur shook his head helplessly. "Shortly after you were freed from under the sky."

Percy exhaled sharply.

* * *

**Hector: Well, I guess my average chapter is somewhere around 1,900 words or so, not counting the first chapter.**

**Mora *laughing*: Yeah, that first chapter was a monster of a chapter. A full 3000 words!**

**Kendra: You had waaaaaaaaaaay too much fun with this chapter, Hector.**

**Hector *abashed*: Yeeeeeeahhh... It was fun writing it. But I'm starting to question whether or not this is a good idea, there's like maybe fifty views and one review. Thank you, TeamLeo! You may be a bad speller by your definition, but compared to Fire on a bad day...? You're pretty much a godsend.**

**Fire: Hay!**

**Kendra *snorts*: Exactly Hector's point. Hay is for horses and we don't have any.**

**Fire: Shaddup.**

**Kendra *saluting*: Sir, yes, sir!**

**Mora: The so-called 'sir sandwich' was invented by Hollywood as a joke. Nowadays, if you say that to a superior in the military, you are punished.**

**Kendra: ...**

**Hector: ...I'll remember that.**

**Percy *watching all this appear on his screen*: (thinking) Wow, the peeps I hang out with are so nutty and just completely _random_.**

**Fire: Nutty, eh?**

**Jen: Would you _like_ my fist to be introduced to your teeth?**

**Kendra: Jen, back off. Fire, that was just...**

**Mora: Uncalled for.**

**Kendra: Thanks, Mora.**

**Fire *grumbling*: Whatever. Can't even have a little fun.**


	4. Immortality Up Close

**_October—2010—Two months after the war with Gaea ended—Long Island, New York_**

Bria yelped when she stepped out of freezing cold into boiling heat, drawing nine people's attention towards her. She let out a little laugh. "Sorry. I hate that transition, and it was really cold back there."

Those nine people still looked utterly confused.

Bria shrugged. "I'm fine, you can go back to what you were doing. Bye." Then she shadow traveled away—correctly this time. She was good at smooth transitionings, but _where_ she wanted to go, even after a century and a quarter of practice, she still absolutely _sucked_ at. And it sucked that she sucked at it.

"Hey, Bria."

Bria smiled at the bookish girl. "Hi, Cleo. I got something."

Cleo's eyes lit up as Bria gingerly pulled out several ancient scrolls she'd snuck from the Athena cabin. "If you want to copy them down, by all means, do so, because I have to take these back," Bria warned.

Cleo snickered. "You mean before they noticed that it was gone, _niña_?"

"_Exactemente_," Bria laughed. "You know me too well."

"_Eeep_!" Cleo squeaked, unrolling the scroll gently. "_Você encontrou os pergaminhos Alexandrino perdidos_?!"

"English, please," Bria requested dryly. "Or Spanish. Ancient Greek. Latin. Italian. I'm not _too_ picky."

"You found the lost Alexandrian scrolls," Cleo whispered in awe. "Oh, _deuses_…"

Bria grinned at her friend's excitement. "Well, actually, I personally didn't find them. A child of Athena found them, ages ago. I'm not _that_ old. But yes, I raided the Athena cabin to get these."

Cleo's eyes were shining as she gently set the scrolls down and pulled on gloves, so as not to damage the texts.

Bria shook her head at her friend's enthusiasm, and turned to back quietly away. Knowing Cleo, she'd be muttering to herself about the texture of the ancient paper until the cows came home. Instead, she ran into someone, letting out a startled, "_Oof_."

She looked up…and up…and up, into the face of Julian. She hurriedly put her fingers to her lips and dragged Julian out of the library. Julian was a literal two feet taller than Bria, but she was stubborn.

"Why are you trying to pull my arm out of my socket?!" Julian yelped softly.

"Would _you_ like to be around when Cleo goes into book mode?" Bria pointed out quietly.

"I hate it when you're right," he muttered.

"Yeah, well, get used to it. I don't like it when I'm right any more than you do," Bria said bitterly.

Julian raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't ask, which Bria was thankful for. Unfortunately, Sadie didn't get the memo. "Why?"

Bria huffed. "Girl, daughter of Pluto, god of the Underworld, the guy that regulates dead people? That ring any bells?"

Sadie looked like she had just swallowed a poisonous frog. "Oh, god, thank god you weren't here two years ago. You would've seen Walt's…"

"Yeah," Julian looked grim. "We could all see it, Sadie. No need of a reminder."

Bria bit her lip. "You _do_ know that the curse isn't gone? Anubis has just nullified it."

Sadie grimaced. "Yeah, we guessed that part." Her eyes widened. "That potion thingy-mabobber you gave Jaz—could that work on Walt?"

Bria chewed on her bottom lip. She shrugged. "It dissolves cancer and disease, speeds up memory recovery, brings the dead back to life, heals a wound to the head or heart in a matter of seconds…I've used it on myself, and I'm still cursed with immortality. I honestly don't know. The curse would probably be extremely diluted from extending over centuries, but I don't know…"

"A maybe, then," Sadie surmised.

"Don't get your hopes up, Sadie," Bria warned.

The Brooklyn house suddenly shook on its foundations. Sadie and Julian grabbed the walls to keep themselves upright. Bria, having been at the epicenter of earthquakes she'd caused, just stood there, bending her knees a little. There was a loud crash coming from the library, and a shriek of outrage most likely from Cleo.

"What was—" Sadie started. Bria took off running towards the East Wall, swearing under her breath. "—that?" Sadie finished in a huff, tearing after Bria, summoning her staff and wand.

Bria was already twirling her staff lethally, nearly dancing around the monsters, and using the large amount of monsters to confuse the heck out of them. One of them held out a hand to stop her, and Bria grabbed the _dracaenae_'s arm, lifting herself off the ground, and catapulted on top of a hellhound, stabbing it with a small dagger of Celestial bronze. Sadie blasted an entire row of them to bits with a golden light. Felix dropped in, frozen about a quarter of them (which was quite a lot), and then fainted. Bria smashed all of the ice sculptures with a vicious expression, whipping her staff around to knock a Cyclops into next week. Still twirling her staff, she ducked, swiping low, breaking several monster's legs. Walt blasted them to dust.

Sadie was frankly amazed at how fast Bria was in battle. She knew she shouldn't be, she'd seen Bria in battle before, against that Percy bloke, but that battle was over so fast she hardly knew it happened before it was brought to a standstill—and by Bria. Now here she was in an extended battle, using the monsters against their own forces. She didn't really need help.

Bria jumped up and kicked the remaining monster in the chest, knocking the Cyclops on its back. She held her Stygian Iron staff an inch away from its chest. "Look," she said. "You tell me if you're working for someone, and if so, who you're working for, and I'll let you live. Deal?"

Sadie raised an eyebrow. Bria ignored her. The Cyclops seemed to register that he was looking at someone he really didn't need to be crossing. "I no—We no—"

"You're not working for anyone," Bria summed up the Cyclops' stuttering. He nodded frantically. Her eyes narrowed. "You aren't very old, are you?"

"I hungry," he grunted. "Smell good."

Bria seemed to be suppressing a laugh. "Thanks, but I'm not all for eating me, nor am I up to eating you. Here's a tip, though: Ham sandwiches are much better eating than I am. Off you go."

She rolled off of him, careful to not let the staff touch him, and stood up. _I was right_, Bria mused to herself, looking up at the monster. He was only about six foot.

"You just tamed a Cyclops," Sadie said flatly, watching it wander off aimlessly ("Ham sand witches? What ham sand witches?").

Bria shuddered. "I don't like sending monsters to Tartarus, but if it's a choice between my life and their going to Tartarus, I'm choosing my life. Not all monsters were born bad. Ask my cousin, Percy Jackson. His half-brother, Tyson, is pretty cool."

"You met him?" Walt asked, sounding interested.

Bria nodded thoughtfully. "Once. Involved a very long discussion on Nico and Percy and the property of hellfire and the River Lethe mixed together. Not entirely sure how we got onto _that_ topic…"

Looking distracted, Bria vanished from the Brooklyn House.

**_November—2010—Three months after the war with Gaea ended—Long Island, New York_**

Bria appeared at the Hades' table in the pavilion. Nico's eyes lit up when he looked up and saw her sitting there. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

Bria grinned impishly. "Yeah, maybe because the last time you saw me you were half out of your mind. I thought I might want to introduce myself properly, with you feeling better."

"Thank you," Nico said sincerely. "I don't know what you put in that—"

"It was a potion with a little gorgon's blood and honey," Bria said, smiling a little.

Nico looked flabbergasted. "Where did you get _gorgon's blood_?"

"You acquire a lot of strange things when you've been alive as long as I have been," Bria said, laughing at Nico's expression. She suddenly sobered. "As well as secrets that are better kept secret."

"I haven't told anyone about the Egyptians," Nico said immediately.

Bria looked at him. "I didn't think so, after you kept the Romans a secret so well. I congratulate you on that, especially being so tested on keeping that a secret with Percy Jackson there. Unfortunately, I highly doubt that this will be the last of your secrets, Nico. Thus is the curse of the Lord of the Underworld's children."

Nico sagged in his seat, nearly face-planting in his pancakes. Bria continued, feeling sorry for her younger brother. "Nico, the up side is that whatever you've found, I've probably already found out about it already. Hades's kids especially are curious, namely because we seek solace with others not of the demigod world." Bria thought about what she said, and rephrased: "Well, those not of the Greco-Roman pantheon, anyway."

The Ghost King eyed his sister like he was sure she'd gone bonkers. "What? There are other demigods?"

His older sister rolled her eyes. "I recommend brushing up on your mythology—and not just this one, the Egyptians, and the Romans. Why do you think Hawaii, Alaska, Iceland, and several other areas are blocked off from the Greek gods?"

Nico blinked. Bria smirked. "Oh, look, Percy's spotted me," she said, laughing a little. "He must be a bit confused."

Nico let out an incredulous laugh. "What—let me guess, you know his life's story, too?!"

Bria laughed outright. "How could I not? Mythology's gossip network is worse than a dozen Aphrodite/Venus cabins. Of course I would sit up and pay attention: his birthday is the day I got cursed."

Nico had shivers run down his spine. "_Excuse_ me?"

"Hi," Percy said, sliding into the seat next to Nico. "You're the girl who walloped me. And I think I glimpsed you in the Giant War"

"Good, you do remember," Bria said approvingly. "I assume Chiron already told you my backstory?"

Nico gaped at his sister. Bria snorted. "Never mind. You probably asked him before he figured out that you saw his missing student."

The ground rumbled. Bria looked alarmed. "Sorry, got to go, that's Daddy dearest finding me again. If you insist on following me, Nico, I'll be with the Egyptians, and don't worry about Percy: he was the one who invaded the Brooklyn House, trying to get you back."

Then she vanished from the spot in a whirl of darkness. Nico and Percy turned towards each other, both mouths opened to ask questions.

**_November—2010—Four days after Hades's last attempt to catch up with Bria—Long Island, New York_**

"Hi," Bria said, trying not to startle her brother. It didn't work. She had to hit the deck from a stream of hellfire blasting towards her face. "Nico, it's just me! Bria!" she yelled.

The hellfire stopped. Bria exhaled. "Jeez, Nico," she said, getting up.

Nico looked a little sheepish. "Still not used to someone knowing how to shadow travel without Mrs. O'Leary, and she isn't very subtle. Sorry. Why did you disappear so suddenly last time?"

Bria shrugged. "Hades trying to catch up with me. _Again_."

Her brother looked confused and alarmed. "What? Why?"

Bria grimaced. "Nico, when I left I was in very bad shape. I'd just had my soul immortalified, I'd been in a wheelchair for two years after being half-submerged in the River Phlegethon, and I had just been out of my wheelchair for six months. My powers were weak, my mind still slightly foggy from Kronos invading my very soul. There is a reason the gods are forbidden to have extended contact from their children… When I left, Hades…"

Bria shook her head abruptly. "Do not misunderstand the gods' distance as disgust or dislike. They simply wish to avoid heartbreak."

Nico watched his sister carefully. Her jaw was clenching and unclenching rapidly, like she was trying not to cry. "And I cannot blame them," Bria whispered, her voice cracking a little.

Hesitantly, Nico wrapped her in a hug. "If the gods ever offer you immortality," Bria whispered, her voice high-pitched. "Decline."

"I already learned that from Percy," Nico said.

"Good," Bria said roughly. "Is it sad that I envy him?"

Nico shook his head. "No. He won't have his heart broken, over and over and over. I know what you've done for me."

Her shoulders shook as she started sobbing, clutching Nico ever closer, as if she wanted reassurance that he wasn't going anywhere. Nico's own heart broke a little as he realized what kind of gift his sister had truly given him. She was willing to break her own heart to offer Nico—a total stranger—solace.

_Break her own heart._

Nico swallowed and hugged his older sister harder. "I know," he said. "I know."

* * *

**Mora: Okay, I feel a little bit insulted. We update nearly daily with 2000-word-average chapters, and yet we have one review. Not that I'm ungrateful, TeamLeo, I'm just a little confused on why our story has so little attention.**

**Hector: Dear god, I'm so freaking _tired_.**

**Fire: Why?**

**Hector: Did you not see my project?! Jeez, that project was a _doozy_!**

**Kendra (laughing): This is not the seventies, Hectorr. No one says _doozy_ anymore.**

**Hector (indignant): Tony Stark does! In the first movie! So _ha!_**

**Mora: *rolls eyes* Hello?!**

**Hector: Yeah? What?**

**Mora: We aren't getting nearly any feedback, Hector. I've looked at this site, most stories this length have like five reviews at minimum. Where are we going wrong?**

**Jen: Oh my god, guys, did you hear? The gov'ts practically throwing a hissy fit to remember because of Obamacare supposed to be passed like, yesterday, and they're closing down the government and oh my god the country's going to go into chaos and we'll be so vulnerable so what happens to like all the people that the USA sent out to play peace? Are they like, stranded there or something, cuz really, I can't imagine that they get high paying joi a kjl dadf g**

**Kendra: Jen, you can shut up now.**

**Jen: Yeah, this is Ruby. I jerked her computer away from her. She's currently freaking out in front of the TV, practically waiting for a bomb or something equally explosive to strike something important. I'm about ready to take her baseball bat and clunk her over the head with it. Driving me nuts. Why am I friends with someone so ditzy?**

**Jen: Why am I friends with someone who wants to clunk me over the head with my own basebal bat?! Why am I friends with someone who only gets riled when Hector talks to you?! I mean, I can understand Dakota, that guy drives everyone up the wall, but** _**Hector?**_

**Mora: Jen, you seriously need to shut up before Ruby really does bash your head in.**

**Kendra: And if you rub those welts raw again, if Ruby doesn't get to you first, I'm gonna kill you.**

**Jen: too late. :D**

**Mora: _What did you do?!_**

**Jen: Oh, I just tied her to her bed. Nothing major. But she won't be getting out of this any time soon, I used nautical knots. And no, Kendra, I was very careful not to get her welts. How can she talk so much? Jeez...worse than Caroline.**

**Hector: You're one to talk.**

**Mora: *groans* here they go again...**

**Fire: No shit...**

**Kendra: You know what? You guys can do whatever the crap you wanna do with this while these two yell at each other through their windows. Bye.**

**Mora: Don't remind me, I can hear them right now. Wait...**

**Fire: Did someone just throw a chair? Seriously? A chair?**

**Mora: See ya. I'm going to go break up the incoming fight.**

**Fire: ...wow. And people think that the Greek gods were screwed... Could someone review, though? We do want feedback.**


	5. To Be Telling

**Replies:**

**Winter Jackson: Wow. Just...wow. Thank you for the suggestions and thoughts and constructive critism. As you will see, I used several of them. I'm still debating on the Harry Potter thing. I might do like a oneshot, an aside if you will, talking about the wizards and her 'Dark' powers. Not entirely sure. -Hector**

**hagmag: Deal. I will do my best to update daily. If I don't, however, assume that I'm either deathly ill or I had a major project that took precedence to this, capice? -Hector**

**Hunteress of the Stars: Thank you! Just so you know, it isn't just mythologies in here, you have mortal government agencies, as well as people who were genetically altered by wackjob scientists. Crazy world this is, right?**

**Please note that I have not read ****United We Spy**** and that I'm using the scale that one is the lowest and twelve is the highest (it'll be explained) and that I didn't like the ending to Maximum Ride so I kind of...quirked it.**

**[You mean changed it drastically?]**

**Shut up, Ruby.**

* * *

_**December-2010-Recently after the Circle of Caravan's downfall-Roseville, Virginia**_

Bria sneaked along the unblocked passage ways through the Academy. She rounded a corner and slammed into someone.

Instantly, said someone reacted, dealing a normally fatal blow to Bria's head, stunning her momentarily before she reacted and jumped over the person's leg that was about to crush her kneecaps, kicking them in their gut on the way up. There was a muffed grunt, and Bria bent backwards as a leg sliced where her ribs had been a moment before. They battled back and forth in that cramped hallway, struggling to gain the upper hand. Just as they pinned Bria down, she dissolved into the shadows. Looking irritated that she was being evaded in her home territory, the girl whipped around, searching for her opponent. Bria's eyebrows skyrocketed as she realized that it was Cameron that she'd been battling.

"Wow. Teaches me to go looking for you," Bria muttered.

Cameron, however, caught it and choked a little. "_What_? Who are you?"

"Don't worry, your mother didn't really know what to make of me either when she caught me on the grounds," Bria reassured her.

Cam's voice was flat. "You got past the security."

"Mostly," Bria agreed. "Name's Bria."

"And you probably already know my name," she muttered.

Bria smiled a little. "Gets annoying, doesn't it?"

"Rapidly."

Cameron finally let out a little laugh. "Either I'm losing my touch or I know why my mother didn't know what to make of you, because frankly, you should be dead for that blow to the head."

Bria's smile turned bitter. "It'd be the second. I'm pretty much scientifically not possible all the way around."

Cam regarded Bria for a long time, thinking that over. She finally said: "I'm not sure I want to know, 'cause really, I just took down a centuries-old terrorist ring and I'm barely eighteen, I don't think I can deal with anything crazier."

Bria laughed. "I hear you, sister."

"Are a Gallagher Girl?"

Bria smiled wryly. "Not exactly. No, I'm not a Gallagher Girl."

Cameron furrowed her eyebrows, trying to figure out the mystery before her. "Let me get this straight. You know what Gallagher Academy is."

"Yeah, it's a spy school with heavily reinforced security to keep out unwanted people."

"And yet you are not a Gallagher Girl."

"If I explained it to you, you're asking for more trouble to find you."

Cameron simply sat down on the dusty ground and leaned against the wall. "You know what? I take back my earlier statement."

"It's Level Eight classification, Cameron. You're at Level Four."

"Cameron is for when Mom is mad at me for doing something stupid," she muttered sullenly. "And I'm at Level Five, not Four. Not anymore."

Bria chuckled. "I honestly have no idea why the government even got into our affairs, but I guess they wanted some for agents, especially from this school. There's at least one of us in this school, probably a legacy. Oh, 'course, Gillian's legacy. Should've thought of that."

Cam made a quizzical face. Bria shrugged. "Hey, tell your mother you met me. If she wants to, she'll tell you, especially after I accidentally probably scared the crap out of her."

"The last one to scare the crap out of her was _me_," Cam said indignantly.

"No, no," Bria reassured. "You still hold that title of most-times-scaring-the-crap-out-of-Rachel-Morgan. This happened when you were missing to the rest of the world. I admit, you know how to hide."

Cam smiled, the first real smile Bria saw. "Thanks. There's a reason I'm nicknamed Chameleon."

"I know," Bria said dryly. "I had a hell of a time trying to track you down, even with all of my connections working overtime."

"Yeah, well," Cam said, pausing. "Part of that time I was being held hostage and tortured for information. Although I did enjoy Rome before that."

"Before you knew that Winters was a spy."

Cam nodded once.

"What day is it?" Bria asked suddenly into the long silence.

"Saturday. Why?"

Bria stood up from the dusty floor, brushing herself off. "I promised your mother a visit on Saturday, way back when. Never really got around to it, got sucked into the war and nearly had my arm blown off that Wednesday. So I'm making it up. Want to come?"

Without hesitation, the taller girl nodded, leading the way to the headmistress's office through the walls of the Academy. Cam paused, listening. "Mom? I've encountered a...visitor?" She pushed open the secret door. Bria walked in.

"It's much easier doing the mundane way," she commented. "I don't scare as many people."

"The last time you came here, you bypassed every single security measure until you came to my office. _Twice_," the Headmistress said dryly. "If that doesn't scare someone who knows the true extent of the security measures, I don't know what will."

"Your daughter wants to know."

Rachel Morgan paused in her typing. She was in casual clothes, her dark hair swept up in a messy ponytail that bounced occasionally. She slowly swiveled around to face the two girls. "Everything?" she checked.

"Everything," Bria confirmed.

"I'm a Level Nine and I barely managed to get my hands on your files. What makes you think that I could, or even _would_, give my daughter who just recently got out of mortal danger your files, your people's files, which are so much more dangerous at times?" she questioned dangerously.

Bria met her gaze levelly. "Because the more she knows the more she won't underestimate them."

"Miss Louge-"

Bria's voice hardened. "Either she can hear the better version from me and you, or she can get Liz to hack their software and get the cold, harsh, distorted truth. Contrary to popular opinion, it _is_ possible. It might take a while for Liz to crack it, but it _is_ possible."

Rachel sagged in her chair.

"Macey is her best friend," Bria said more gently. "Even if she doesn't know her ancestry herself, at least one in the group needs to know to expect more crazy crap to happen around her."

Rachel's head snapped up to give Bria the full Morgan Glare. Cam stepped away from Bria, half-expecting her to incinerate in the heat of her mother's gaze. "I've met my father's gaze when he was furious at me. Do you really expect me to be intimidated by a glare?" Bria said calmly.

"Truth," Rachel muttered.

"All you two have succeeded in doing is getting me insanely curious," Cam said impatiently.

Rachel ignored her daughter. So did Bria. "If she tells Macey, her scent will stregthen."

"You have enough security measures to blow every enemy into kingdom come," Bria said dryly. "Besides, she's a distant legacy. A talented legacy, of course, but a legacy all the same."

Rachel threw up her hands. "If anyone asks, I wasn't involved." Then she turned around and ignored both of them.

Cam turned towards Bria expectantly. Bria looked thoughtful. "Well I guess I should start with Ancient Greece and their wacky gods, three thousand years ago."

Had Cam been drinking something, she would've spewed it from laughing so hard.

_**January-2011-Roughly six months after the aliens fiasco-Midtown Manhattan, NY**_

Bria was fed up to her eyeballs. She'd tried shadow-travelling to the Brooklyn House or even to Camp Half-Blood to find her half-brother, but _noooooooooooooo_. Now she was so tired she could hardly see straight, let alone shadow-travel straight. _How many times did she try?!_ you might be thinking incredulously. At least six times. Possibly seven. She wasn't sure.

Now she was freezing at the top of some dump of a tower. Well, actually, if it had been in working order and someone who liked modern style were looking at it, it would look quite nice: sleek and curved and shiny. Bria preferred the warm tones of wood, not the cold glare of metal and glass. Anyway.

And now, she was facing a tired-looking guy with something glowing on his chest, a guy with a quiver of arrows strapped to his back and a longbow in his hand, and Thor.

"Hi," she said childishly, steadying herself by leaning against the metal railing.

"Bria de Louge," Thor said in shock. "You are becoming an enigma once more, child. What brings you here?"

"Oh, nothing major," she said, quick to reassure them. "I just can't seem to travel right, and ended up here on accident. Speaking of which, where am I?"

The guy with the quiver reguarded her with frank distrust. The other guy with the glowing circle in his chest just stared at her tiredly. "And do I need to be ready to get out of here at a moment's notice?" she added onto what she had said.

Thor, for all his might in battle, seemed to not grasp the concept that Bria was more worried about Thor's companions than monsters showing up, and reassured her that the Greek's monsters avoid him and as such, will avoid her. "You are on Friend Stark's mechanical tower."

"Top floor," the guy with the circle of light on his chest said.

Thor pointed at the guy with the light. "Friend Stark," he explained, and then continued with the quiver guy. "And that's Friend Barton."

Bria raised her eyebrows. "You got a good gig, Thor. But you really need to get some sleep. All three of you."

"Ms. Louge, we're part of the Avengers," Barton said crisply.

Bria pursed her lips. "Yeah, and I'm a demigod with Level Eight clearance. I didn't ask for your status of importance with the world, I told you three to get some sleep. Speaking of which, I really need some."

She started towards the darkest shadow on the roof, but Thor dragged her back. "I am well aware of your infallible ability to travel into danger, Lady Bria," Thor said, amused. "You are to stay here, where you are not potentially battling danger."

Bria smiled wryly as she looked up at the impossibly tall man. "Between SHIELD, a spy school, my own kind—both sets of them—the Egyptians, and your kind, as well as many other friends I've acquired in my long years, I think I'm very safe, Lord Thor."

Thor insistently tugged her into the house. Bria shot a look at Stark and Barton like, _Help me! What do I do?!_ Neither, unfortunately, were of any help. "Do not think I have not forgotten your words to the Son of Coul when I first came to Midgard."

Bria stopped dead, wrenching her arm away from the god of thunder's grip. "What?"

Thor turned around impatiently. "You were the one to convince them that I was not entirely a threat. Had they decided I was, I reckon I would be dead by now."

Barton stifled a laugh. Stark's right eyebrow had raised for a while now. "I think your eyebrow is trying to escape," Bria said as an aside to him. "But seriously, Thor, just because you didn't have your priorities in the right order didn't mean you were a bad guy. A little strange to this world, but not a bad guy all the same."

Thor frowned at her. "You of all people should know what it's like to not run from something that's much bigger than yourself. I think you're a little outdated with your information, Thor. I hate sounding egotistical, but I literally cannot die. Believe me, I've tried. I've pushed myself so past my breaking point that it's a miracle that I still have all my fingers and toes. When I backhanded my grandfather—yes, that one" she said to the horrified look on Thor's face, "into a million pieces again, he cursed me, binding my own soul to his, forced to watch the ages pass me by. You may not have noticed Thor, but I'm over a century old. Most mortals don't live that long. Shoot, my own kind rarely making it out of childhood, Thor!"

"Odin Almighty," Thor said tiredly, all of a sudden looking very old.

"And trust me on this, Thor, I've tried to burn out my soul to die from over-extertion of my powers. Guess what? Immortal souls can't be burned out. I've thrown myself at bigger and more armored monsters than I normally ever would, unable to cope with the fact that I would live while my friends, my mother, my family, died around me. You won't know, Thor, until you look up and realize that Barton or Stark are old men and are lying on their deathbeds and you're perfectly fine. You grew up around mostly immortal people, never aging drastically, never dying. Tell me, Thor, who got the better end of immortality?"

Her eyes flinty, she turned two the other two. "Life is precious only because it ends. Take it from an immortal."

Seemingly rejuvenized from her earlier tiredness, she raised her hands, palms facing the ceiling, and the shadows gathered around her, and in a whirl of darkness, she was gone.

* * *

**Mora (excited): Okay, you can kind of tell where Hector stopped writing and I started. But I think I did good! Never written anything this complicated. Normally its theories or chemical formulas. But Hector has seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth, and this was half done...so I thought I'd give it a shot.**

**Ruby (irritated): Great, awesome, I got up at six this morning, and it's now 9;44 PM, and I'mm gonna go ta bed. See ya, suckers.**

**Mora: *huffs* Whatever.**


	6. Baffling Electronics

**Replies:**

**hag mag- 'A perfect mary sue because she isn't a mary sue'. I don't really follow. Do you mean a perfect original character because she isn't a mary sue? -Hector**

**hag mag- Colossus Rises is another crazy series by the author of Perter Lerangis, involving the Seven Wonders of the world and the power they hold. The time and place changer sort of acts as both a line breaker and brings the reader up to date (so to speak), so I'm kind of proud of that. Yeah...I'm good at length and balancing my dialouge and internal thoughts, but change in the story is kind of uneven and fast paced (****_bangbang, bang bang, bang, bangbang_****) and I'm trying to work diligently on that (I actually have been trying to even that out for over a year), but so far its pretty much the same. Longer, more internal thoughts, but the major events keep coming unevenly. Driving me up the wall. -Hector**

_**January-2011-Six months after the alien fiasco-Midtown Manhattan, NY**_

Bria studied the stars-the few that could be seen, anyway. The air was cold and clear, rejuvinating her tired senses, although the smack of motor exhaust slapped her in the face roughly.

Night was her constant friend, her cloak of darkness, but with enough light to guide her way, pointing her in the right direction. It had been that way for a century and a quarter, and Bria would always welcome the sunset's beautiful, dying rays: the signal to the start of her protection, a stark contrast to the gold that lined her soul and eyes. And it always brought comfort to her that every time she roamed at night, something deep inside her stirred, flaring irritation and the faintest bit of fear, and she knew that it was Kronos's consciousness cursing Bria for being in darkness, just as he was. In a strange way, Bria was Kronos's source of light and perhaps hope of getting out of the endless torture of Tartarus. So to have the daughter of darkness emmerced in shadows, coating her in a layer of protection against harm, this was when she could feel Kronos most keenly.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?"

Bria smiled. "Man out of time. Ironic, isn't it? For New York, yes, it _is_ beautiful. For Mississippi or Alaska, most wouldn't be able to breathe from the pollution. But I guess that the pollution has been around almost as long as New York itself, huh?"

Steve Rodger's pencil jerked, creating an unintentional streak on his drawing of Old New York.

"Sorry," Bria apologized. "I have a tendency to blurt things out at random."

In response, he simply said, "1940s."

Bria's lips twitched. "1900s. As in, 1900 to 1910."

He exhaled a little as Bria moved closer to look at the damaged drawing. "Didn't change much. Huh. Ten bucks says that in ten years, New York will be virtually unrecognizable by today's people."

"I'd be giving away my money."

"I know."

He laughed.

A strange bond formed between the two, not quite friendship, not quite aquantinces, bound together by their exasperation with today's rapidly evolving technology, and longing to be back in the era they were born and raised in.

* * *

Steve stared at the thing in his hand, which was apparently a phone. Bria rolled her eyes, plucked it from Steve's grip, tossed it over her shoulder, and gave Steve her own phone—empty of contacts and personal items, as Bria never used it. It was a simple flip phone—old, as in, it still had an antenna.

"Antenna," Steve said with relief, pulling up the rod. "Finally something I recognize."

"In accordance to Tony Stark, this is practically an antique," Bria said dryly.

Steve rolled his eyes. "In accordance to Tony Stark, yesterday's breakfast was antique."

Bria shrugged. "Anyway, it's a bit battered, just so you know. Actually a bit surprised that it's lasted this long. It was made at the turn of the millinium, so it's a bit closer to what you're used to—and definitely _not_ Tony Stark approved."

"Nothing I know how to work is Tony Stark approved," Steve said dryly.

"Good, that makes two of us," Bria laughed. "He rivals some of the smartest of my kind."

Steve looked thoughtful, probably thinking back to his school and education from the forties. "Athena?" he guessed.

"Yup," Bria smiled. "One of her children is paired with another person that is probably the least likely person for an Athenian child to choose, and said person _certainly_ knows how to wreak havoc on his enemies."

Steve's brow knitted together in concentration. "That old rivalry from that snake-haired lady...what's his name? Polly? Perseus? Peter? Some kind of planet?"

Bria resisted the urge to burst into laughter. "That's a parrot, that's his son, that's his nephew's nickname for his son, and that's his Roman counterpart, Neptune. His Greek version is Poseidon."

"Right." Steve looked deflated. "Wait, _Perseus_ is his son? As in, Perseus Jackson? And his girlfriend, Annabeth Chase?"

Bria nodded hesitantly, wondering how Steve knew that. "Oh," she suddenly realized out loud. "Thor. Of course he would tell you."

He smiled apologetically. "To be fair, I'm probably the only one who remembered. Thor was drunk and told stories from Asgard to entertain us. So was just about everyone else, too drunk to see straight, let alone stand." Steve laughed a little. "Quite a feat to catch Natasha unawares and not get killed."

Bria smiled a little wistfully and sadly.

* * *

Steve frowned at the sleek laptop, unsure of where to go from so many windows. Bria looked up from her book when she heard Steve's hiss of frustration. She laughed a little. "Steve, all those small windows are all just ads. Just exit out of them."

He pointed at the screen. "But this one says I've got some kind of virus. How does it know whether or not I've got a virus? Furthermore, I haven't been sick since I got the serum, so this is wrong anyway."

Bria bit the inside of her cheek. "The kind of virus the ad is referring to is a computer virus, which can basically go undetected or it can mess up your computer by who knows how much. But since this is Stark's computer, and Stark's computers are like built against every virus out there and some that aren't, so any way you look at it, you really don't need to worry about virus ads, Steve."

Steve stared quizzically at the screen, and Bria heaved a sigh, marked her book, and tossed it into a shadow, striding over to Steve and swiftly exiting all of the ads. "One of these days, I will teach you the difference between an ad and what you want," Bria said tiredly.

"I'm sorry, it's just like an electrical labyrinth to me," Steve said helplessly.

"I already chucked Stark's computers out of my room," Bria said dryly. "I recommend you do the same."

Steve's lips twisted into an amused smile. "Along with his phones, i-something-or-other harbors—"

"iPod docks."

"—and pretty much all the other electronic devices," Steve continued.

"I replaced them with books," Bria said. "I've got a whole section on the history of electronics, if you want to see if you can catch up."

Steve frowned a little.

Bria sighed. "I'm not criticizing you, Steve. Jeez. I've used those books frequently in the past twenty years, and have added to my stash in the past year and a half."

Steve regarded Bria before cracking a smile. "It still sounds so odd to hear a fourteen-year-old say something about something that happened before their supposed birth."

"Hypocrite."

He laughed.

* * *

"What I want to know," Stark said as she entered the bedroom that she sometimes occupied. "Is how you managed to get every single electronic thing in here with the exception for JARVIS, out."

Bria looked amused. "We all have our secrets, Stark. I thought you'd ask about how I got bookshelves like that, but I guess not."

"That was going to be my second question," Stark said, irritated a bit at being interrupted. "How _did_ you get this in here without it showing up on the cameras? Where did you even get it?"

"And here I thought that the first encounter with me would actually sink into your head," Bria said dryly.

Stark shrugged. "That really isn't scientifically possible."

"Neither is being born from the afterlife, or being turned immortal, or even being cursed," Bria said. "I know people without the X-gene that can fly. See if your science can come up with an answer for that, huh? Face it, Stark. Science answers a lot, that's a given, but even science has a limit as to what it can explain."

"'Magic is only what science has yet to explain'," Stark quoted.

Bria regarded him with mild surprise. "Untrue. Scientifically, shadows are not maluable."

"She, however, can play with them like they're play-dough."

Bria turned around to see her brother leaning against the door, shadows at his feet. "Hey, little brother. What brings you here?"

He eyed Stark. "Uh, yeah. We've got a problem in Alaska."

Bria smacked her face with her palm. "What did Raven do this time?!"

Nico shook his head. "It isn't Raven this time, surprisingly. One of the fire people got mad. The volcano's going to explode."

Bria laughed. "If you want me to be concerned, Nico, you need to tell me that Cycote turned on Eagle and started a civil war in the panthenon, with nature divided on either side. And besides, Alaska is riddled with volcanoes. Care to tell me _which one_?"

The son of Hades looked gobsmacked. "Mount Redoubt."

"That one that erupted five times sometime in March of 2009?" Stark questioned.

"March 23," Bria agreed. "And no one was even remotely harmed, even though there were many flight cancellations and delays, with a sprinkling of ash in a small village 110 miles north of Anchorage."

Nico looked utterly confused. "Okay, look, Bria, it's erupting _right now,_ and the lava is heading straight towards a small town that wasn't there two years ago."

Bria swore. "What kind of idiot builds a town on an active volcano?!"

Then she grabbed her brother's arm and vanished into the shadows.

* * *

**Mora: Wrote this up rather rapidly. Sorry for the late post. We've got wonderful Tropical Storm Karen bearing down on us. May or may not update tomorrow or the next day. Will probably be touch and go for a little while. Wish us luck.**


	7. Unexpected Escapee

**Replies:**

**TeamLeo: Yeah the writing might be a little bizzare for a while until the tropical storm passes and Hector gets back on this instead of me, so we both have excuses for being weird lately. Hector and I are trying _not_ to make this cheesy, but I think I failed at that this chapter. *shrugs* Hector will probably go back and make changes once he recovers. Honestly, he's much better at this than I am. -Mora**

* * *

_**February-2011-Four months since Bria last saw the Flock-Central Park, Manhattan, NY**_

Bria laughed as Gazzy tossed a tennis ball into the air and exploded, showering them with lime green fuzz from the ball. Bria ran a hand through her curly hair exasperatedly, futilely trying to get the fuzz out of her hair. Iggy suddenly sniffed quite obviously, a confused expression crossing his face. "I smell the ocean."

Nudge let out a laugh. "Well, we _are_ on an island, Ig."

Bria let out an impressed huff: that _had_ to have been Nudge's shortest sentence.

"No, I can smell the polluted Sound," Iggy said, irritated slightly. "This ocean is _clean_. Like the ocean from two hundred years ago, before plastics really got into it."

Bria pointed across the park. "You might be smelling Percy, son of the sea. Although, from here, it's rather unlikely."

"Wind's blowing towards us," Max commented. "Not all that surprising, knowing Iggy's sense of smell." Her eyes followed Bria's pointed finger, and she frowned. "He looks familiar. Can't quite place it."

Bria raised an eyebrow. "I doubt that you've met Percy before. The whole world would've heard about that, with your stubborness. Percy is the only one I know who surpasses you in stubborness."

Fang eyed the raven-haired man. "I highly doubt that he trumphs Max in stubborness."

"He held the sky at the age of fourteen and lived because of sheer will. The same sky that you six fly in," Bria commented casually. "He surpasses Max. Haven't seen him lately, though. Been avoiding Camp since the last episode."

Nudge squinted at Percy. "How old is he?"

"Two years younger than Max, I believe," Bria said thoughtfully.

"He's _seventeen_?" Gazzy squeaked, startled. "He looks _twenty_!"

Bria pursed her lips. "For all he's been through, he might be as old as I am."

Max scrutinized the seventeen-year-old, something achingly familiar about him, like from a very distant memory. He looked like he was tall, but it was hard to tell, because he was sitting down, one arm wrapped around a young woman with blonde hair, about the same age as he, who was reading a book. His bright green eyes roamed the park warily, looking at both people and the surrounding area—the same wary look, Max realized with a jolt, that she gave to her own surroundings when the School was still in full operation, when she felt too exposed. His windswept black hair reminded her of Fang's messy hair, and he had his hand in his pocket, fiddling with something out of sight.

"Am I the only one who thinks he looks familiar?" Fang asked, sounding faintly confused.

Max, and surprisingly Nudge, shook their heads no.

Nudge, however, was the first to realize, and shook Max's shoulder urgently. "Max, that little boy that they brought in mere hours before Jeb helped us escape."

Gazzy let out a surprised gasp. Bria was stunned. "He's a _demigod_?" Iggy asked in disbelief. "How'd he escape?!"

"He followed us," Nudge said. "I know, I helped him out of his cage and told him to stick with us. They hadn't done anything to him yet, I couldn't just leave him in there. My god, he looks different."

"Still got that weird scent of clean ocean, though it makes more sense now than it did then," Iggy muttered.

Percy's eyes rested on the Flock, surrounding Bria, all staring at him, mouths half-agape. Angel suddenly giggled and mimicked what Max assumed to be Percy's voice: "Did Leo draw on my face again and Annabeth convienently forget to tell me?"

Bria let out a surprised laugh. "Yep, that's Percy's thoughts that you're hearing."

Nico appeared out of Fang's dark shadow, causing the whole of the Flock to jump and scramble away. Bria snickered, and Max grinned wryly. Nico blinked at the people around him. "Well, Bree, I was going to tell you that the Flock were in town, but I guess that you already figured that out."

Bria snorted with laughter. "You're a bit late on the uptake, Nico. They've been here for five hours."

Nico smiled dryly. "I've been in Alaska for the past four and a half hours. I got back to Camp half an hour ago."

"What were you doing in _Alaska_?" Percy questioned, coming up to them.

Nico exchanged a glance with Bria. "Visiting an old friend," Nico replied smoothly.

"I know when my brother lies to me," Percy said, his voice flat.

"Would you rather me tell you the truth and tell you about another panthenon?" Nico said dryly.

Percy shrugged. "The last time we encountered another panthenon, they turned out to be friends after a rather rocky start."

"No thanks to you," Bria said dryly. "_I_ got on just fine with them before you showed up and whaled the heck out of the magicians."

"I thought Nico had been kidnapped by _you_!" Percy protested.

"You'd just seen me shadow travel, and you thought I'd _kidnapped_ him?" Bria said, bewildered.

Percy huffed, throwing up his hands. "I'm sorry to tell you this, Bria, but with the fuzzy connection I had, the shadows looked like _dirt_."

Bria paled very visibly, even with her color. "Gods above, I'm sorry, Percy. I forgot about how recently that was after her defeat."

The Flock sat up and took notice when they noticed Bria's color—or lack of such. Instead of a dark coffee brown that she normally was, she was more of a tan color. She had goosebumps lining her skin even though it was unseasonably warm for a New York February, and she was absently rubbing her stomach—the same spot that the Flock helped treat when she stumbled into their house two years ago, just before the war with the Romans and Gaea was officially over. Max remembered all to vividly when she'd _hammered_ Fang because he snuck up behind her unintentionally, snapping one of Fang's ribs in the process. Fang rubbed his chest in remembrance.

"Who are all of you? Some other panthenon that I probably haven't heard of?" Percy questioned.

Max, surprised at his slightly accustatory tone, laughed. "Nope, just experiments that weren't supposed to get this far in life. You know, 98% human and 2% bird. Your average package."

Percy shrugged. "I know a harpy, a centaur, several satyrs, and a Fury, all of which can be pretty darned scary when they want to be, all of which are half-human, half-mammal. I myself am half-human, so really, you having wings is just another kick to my getalong. Just saying."

Max gave him an appreciative grin. "I don't see wings or a tail, so what's your other half?"

Percy gave her a mischievious grin that made everyone but Iggy take a step back. "Sea god."

Max cringed. "Duh. Of course. She told us you were a demigod. That was a _really_ stupid question."

"Sea god. What was his name? Polly? Peter? Pluto?"

Bria gave Gazzy an annoyed look. "Pluto was _my_ father. Well, sort of."

Gazzy huffed. "Look, I know it started with a P, and there isn't another planet that starts with P! So is there a planet I'm missing?"

Percy also looked faintly affronted. "My father's name is _not_ Polly, _nor_ is it Peter. I get called that enough. His name is Poseidon. And why do you look familiar?"

That last part was directed at Nudge, who turned a little red at the sudden attention. "I was the one to get you out of the cage next to us and told you to stick close. We're the same age, seventeen or so."

Percy looked like he'd been hit with a large brick. He reacted like it too: his right hand flew up and clutched his head, grimacing, his eyes darkening. Nudge backed up, ramming into Max who tripped over herself trying to get out of Nudge's way. The blonde that Percy had had his arm around earlier looked up from her book and darted over to him, leaving the book's pages fluttering from the wind of her wake.

The son of the sea was now kneeling on the ground, doubled up, clutching his head with both hands. Max looked like she was having sympathy pains, who knew what it was like to feel her skull was about to crack open from the blinding pain. The blonde girl knelt next to Percy and told him something in a language only Bria could understand. Percy nodded stiffly. With precision that only came from years of doing, she swiftly jabbed behind Percy's jaw, just below his ear, and he sank to the ground limply, out cold.

"What the crap was that?" Iggy said softly.

Annabeth turned to chew him out and stopped when she saw Bria in front of him, giving her a subtle message. "Get Percy to Camp," Bria said. "Fighting won't help this situation. I'll explain it to them."

"I don't even _know_ you—"

"She's my sister," Nico said. Annabeth jumped at his voice and turned and gawked a little. "Since when did you have a stunt double?"

Fang and Nico exchanged glances. "Since nineteen years ago?" Nico guessed. Nudge bit her lip to keep from grinning. "But seriously, Bria's my sister. She's the one Percy battled in the Brooklyn House."

Annabeth's voice was flat. "Bria. Bria, as in, de Louge? The one that stalled Kronos's returning a century ago."

Bria nodded once, warily. Annabeth sighed miserably. "So it was you who came before Hazel."

Bria's lips twitched. "Funny, I said something very similar to that once, to the Praetors of Rome, shortly after the Titan War."

Annabeth let out a disbelieving huff. "How many demigods knew about both sets of demigods before the switch?!"

"Four," Bria and Nico said at the same time. "Well," Bria amended. "One of them didn't really know consciously, but it was in his blood. And another is dead."

Annabeth stared, dumbfounded.

"Three of them were Underworld children," Nico added, smirking a bit.

The daughter of Athena looked like her mother's sacred animal.

"C'mon," the daughter of Hades said. "Let's get you and Percy to Camp."

* * *

**Ruby: PLOT TWIST!**

**Kendra (wincing): Thank you, Ruby, I thought that fairly obvious, but whatever suits your fancy.**

**Mora: Update on Tropical Storm Karen: If the storm goes through the path the forecasters predict, we're going to get hammered. If it keeps going the way it's been going, tomorrow will be a bit rainy, but nothing major.**

**Hector (tiredly): Hey, guys.**

**Mora: Hector!**

**Kendra: You okay?**

**Ruby: What happened?**

**Fire: Ceeing as I was there: no, he's not relly OK, we whent out to get fire wood, you no, from the shak? He disloged the rong piece of wood...**

**Hector: Basically, a mass avalanche of wood. I'm sporting a cracked leg, bruised ribs, and a black eye from that.**

**Fire: He got it worse than me. He was neerer. I just have splinters up the yin yang and a concusstion.**

**Mora (indignantly): a concussion is pretty bad, Fire!**

**Hector: That's what I told him. I'm not even typing this. Sis is.**

**Kendra: Alice, before the storm gets too bad, we need to go over the WHAP project.**

**Ruby: *laughs***

**Alice: Gotcha. Tomorrow, at eight?**

**Kendra: I'll come over to your house. I'm allowed to hop the fence, right?**

**Hector: Has it ever stopped you before?**

**Kendra (shrugging): No.**


	8. Horror, Anger, and Aggravation

**Replies:**

**TeamLeo: I appreciate the support you showed my cohort in crime! As well as me. Yeah, definite _ouch_. Thank you for reviewing! -Hector**

**molly122: Wow, lots of compliments. Thanks! But I have to hand some of it to Mora, but I think she's too stressed out right now to do much of anything regarding the story. -Hector**

**Hey, people of Fanfiction! I'm back, in one piece (well, mostly)! Well, the storm was awesome. The preparation was not. Translation: the storm came hard and heavy in some areas and was hardly a 'blip on the radar' for others. I nearly got myself killed preparing for it, resulting in a cracked bone in my leg and bruised ribs and a black eye. Of course, the hurricane was the weekend before the last week before nine weeks exams, so all of us were preparing for that, as well as setting everything straight again from the tropical storm. Um...what else? I will attempt to resume the daily updates. I am sorry about this week long lack of updates and the upcoming rather short chapter, onlly 1601 words and rather unimportant as of now. This is my attempt at writing with a lot going on in my personal enviroment...so yeah, it probably sucks and no one is really reading it... yeah.**

**-Hector**

* * *

_**March-2011-A month after Percy found the Flock-Long Island, NY**_

"Bria de Louge," someone said behind her. She turned. Percy Jackson was sitting on her little-used bed in the Hades Cabin of Camp Half-Blood. He studied her face carefully, cautiously, wearily.

"Percy Jackson," she responded in turn.

They studied each other, both of them bearing the tired look of seeing far too much, slouched shoulders, and dark half-moons under their eyes. "You have a question," she remarked.

Percy shrugged helplessly. "Can we trust you?"

Surprisingly, Bria smiled a little. "Probably not. Just as I really can't trust you, either."

"I thought it was just me."

The daughter of Hades shook her head. "No. Do you want to know why?"

Percy gave her a sad smile. "You bear the mark of Kronos. It's part of your curse."

"Not only do I bear the mark of Kronos," she countered, "but ever since you banished him, unable to reform ever again, technically, I could also be called Kronos. He tied my soul to his. His consciousness slumbers in the back of my mind, probably going to be that way for quite a while. But, eventually, until someone finds a way to kill him, to End Time, he will come back. Luke had preparations to host his soul, unable to be cut or blown to smithereens. I, I have no such preparation."

Horror dawned on Percy's face. "He intended you to suffer."

"He intended to possess me when he had enough strength. Now, though, the largest piece of his soul resides in me. A small bit, but bigger than the dust that Luke blasted him to when you gave him the knife," Bria said softly. "He intended to possess me, and let me come back into myself long enough to see the destruction I had caused at Kronos's hands. Then he would stand by as I tore myself apart with guilt, from the blood literally on my hands."

Bria turned to walk out of the cabin, but paused. "Thank you," she said softly.

Percy was horrified and confused. "Wait, for what?"

She held her head high as she faced him again, with those golden eyes. "For giving me a reprieve."

He thought he was going to throw up at her story, so he stayed silent, sure that if he tried to talk, he really would then throw up. She disappeared out of the cabin.

_**March-2011-Just after the encounter with Percy-Midtown Manhattan, NY**_

"You want me to what?!"

Bria cringed. "I—I just thought, as a safety precaution, in case he ever does wake up or something, tries to take over, I could overpower him for a few seconds...it would give the others enough time to defeat him, if it came to that."

Bruce Banner stared at short girl, alarmed. "Bria, this is some serious stuff: it would take even the Captain out for an hour at least."

"I would go through it in half that time, shorter than that if he was in control," Bria said miserably. "And it takes nothing short of a roundhouse kick to the skull from an experienced, experimented on, winged mutant to knock me out, if I was even in control. Or belladonna. That has me out for the count for fifteen minutes. I haven't tried gorgon's blood, I don't feel like waking up five years in the future, I already lost two years from when I was in a coma."

He continued to stare as she nervously rattled off a bunch of poisons, some of their backstories, and how long they (if they do) render her unconscious.

"Bria," he said sharply. She instantly stopped her nervous babbling about..._bloodbane_? "Look, Bria, I understand what your saying, but you've always been in control." He snorted. "You're more in control than me, that's for sure."

"Because his soul has been split into a billion fragments of dust," Bria muttered in a _duh_ voice. "He's out until who-knows-when."

"Then why are you preparing for this?!"

Bria held out a finger: "I'll be around when he _does_ rise again," she held up another finger: "I refuse to be used as a tool, my skin is still soft. A killing blow on me is enough to eject Kronos when he's in control, this would slow my body down, thus slowing him down," she held out another finger: "He will most likely guard against another Luke incident, but even when he does rise again, if it isn't in my body, if they haven't been prepared, then we can still slow him down. See my point?"

"No," Bruce admitted. "All I see is giving you a dangerous substance that could kill you."

Bria's gaze hardened to gold diamond. "You see yourself giving a dangerous substance that could kill you to a young girl incapable of handling herself."

"No! Well, the dangerous substance is a part of it, but other than that, no!"

Her gaze was flinty. "May I remind you, Dr. Banner, that I've been alive longer than your Captian. Your spies are hunted constantly for their skills, for both evil and good intent, to both use them and attempt to kill them. Your Captain saw war at a young age, was fully willing to sacrifice himself to save New York and all the people there. Mr. Stark was kidnapped and tortured, he saw the destruction his weapons that he created in action, and in return destroyed them, making a new line of weapon to be used as a weapon against a weapon, and no doubt went through night terrors for months on end after the alien's invasion. Thor—well, I don't know about Thor entirely, but I hope you see my point. You're looking at a girl who got her soul hijacked and immortalified by an evil Titan. You're looking at a girl who was in a coma for months on end and in a wheelchair for longer. You're looking at a girl who couldn't accept her fate and willingly laid herself on the line, hoping to save lives while she ended her own. I _highly_ doubt that I'm incapable of handling myself."

Bruce opened his mouth to protest further, but she stopped him by holding up a hand. "I came to you, thinking that out of all the people in the world, you'd probably understand best, with the Hulk raging inside of you, willing to protect you at the cost of others. _I_ do not have the Hulk. _I_ don't have something inside of me that is willing to protect my alter ego. _I_ have something that cares not for my form as long as it suits his abilities. _I_ have something that wishes to rage across the earth, tearing down all of civilization, to have men, half-humans, and gods be his slaves."

She dropped through his shadow, her rage mounting.

"That was unwise, Friend Banner," Thor said cautiously.

Bruce Banner sagged against his table. "I know. And I couldn't let her get her hands on that, either. She's destroyed on the inside, she might just do it to get a reprieve."

"You underestimate her strength," Thor said. "She _has_ been granted a reprieve."

He snorted disbelievingly.

_**April-2011-A month since the encounter with Percy-Brooklyn, New York**_

"Hey, Bria," Walt greeted. Sadie looked up just as the shadows on the wall began to move, forming an human-esque form until Bria was standing there, looking annoyed at Walt.

"How do you always _do_ that?!" she asked, looking unsurprised but annoyed and curious.

"You tell me how you do that, and I'll tell you how I sense you coming," Walt countered.

Bria looked irritated. "I summon my power and direct it to the shadows, ordering them to transport me to wherever with the location fixedly in my mind."

Walt looked surprised. "That's it?"

"Yes, Walt, _that's it_."

Sadie rolled her eyes. "Wow, someone's in a foul mood."

Bria copied Sadie in rolling her eyes. "I don't know, about a month ago, I think I terrified the saviour of the demigods, then right after that, one of my merry band of misfits decided that he didn't trust me with a semi-dangerous liquid while I was trying to protect the demigods. A week ago, some other people I know nearly got captured by this insane organization that basically experiments on helpless kids—and they are ruthless when they get their hands on you. They managed to escape for like the fiftieth time, which once would've been a feat in and of itself, so this is kind of a miracle, but they're badly wounded and one with a broken wing. Then I've got some contacts in Alaska, three volcanoes erupted within like a day and a half, they're tired of rescuing people off the mountains and out of avalaunches. _And_ I ran into someone that I met like a decade and a half ago that first started out as a dangerous but non-threatening acquaintance, and then he witnessed me shadow-traveling and had I been mortal, killed me for using the 'Dark Arts'. Why on earth he was in America, I don't know, but honestly, he has more important things to do than to stalk me."

Sadie blinked. "Wait, back up, they had a broken _wing_? Are your friends human?"

Bria shrugged. "Mostly."

* * *

**Kendra: Poor Bria.**

**Mora: Poor Bria?! Poor _me_! I just got through with my nine-weeks exams!**

**Fire: What, and you think we didnt?!**

**Jen (dryly): You were the only one to get a 103 in your class, Mora, in Art.**

**Mora: So?! I frankly don't care about Art, I already knew about that, I'm more worried about _Chemistry_! Or Geometry Accelerated! What if he grades me unfairly because he hates me?!**

**Fire: Sonds more like a personal ropblem to me...**

**Kendra: Fire, just shut up. Mora, you wrote out and then typed up all four of your extremely long study guides and then made Alice quiz you on them. I highly doubt you made anything below a ninety-five.**

**Percy: Imagine what she'll be like on the ACT. God, save us all.**

**Jen: *groans***

**Hector: Wow, I wonder if they noticed that I was actually the one that typed this up or what?**

**Kendra: Don't worry, I did. I take it you're feeling better?**

**Hector: Uh-huh. It doesn't hurt to breathe, at least, and I can see out of my black eye. Somewhat. I got to see the hurricane, at least.**

**Jen (indignantly): That was _not_ a hurricane! That was hardly a blip on our radar!**

**Hector: Uh, Jen, you moved. Remember? It may not have been bad where you are, but we got hammered. Dark as dusk even at noon. Power went out at least three times for at least half an hour. Pretty awesome, in my opinion.**

**Jen (indignantly): And i missed it?! I love big storms!**

**Kendra: Okay, guys.**


End file.
